Since I booked my excursion seven months ago, I’ve had lots of discussions with so many people about it. It seems most people don’t know of anyone who has made the trek, much less summited the top of the tallest mountain on Earth. Conversations about my itinerary, packing, planning and training abound, much to my delight. There’s an abundance of wonder and questions when people hear of my adventure. It’s been fun to share what I’ve learned over the months, studying up for the trip. I have read dozens of books, blogs, and articles and watched every YouTube video about the trek that I can find. Here’s a few of the top questions I’ve been asked.
You're climbing Mount Everest?
No, I'm not climbing Everest at all. This is the first distinction I feel obliged to explain when people ask. Climbing indicates a much more rigorous and dangerous trip to the top. I'm taking a really long walk, or a trek, to basecamp, which is at 17,500 feet. The summit of Everest is an additional 12,000 feet up...that’s a whole other mountain. To put it in perspective, the highest peaks in the Colorado Rockies are 14,000 feet. Summiting Everest is another trip altogether which requires more resources, more time and more mountaineering skills than I possess. There’s nothing technical about a trek. It just requires putting one foot in front of the other. There are no ropes nor belaying devices. The only real equipment needed, other than my boots, is a pack and hiking poles.
How do you train for Everest?
A reasonably healthy and fit person can easily reach basecamp. I have regularly been exercising for years, but I did make some adjustments to my training to prepare. The most important muscles are my legs, so that I can walk the distance and climb the hills, and my core and shoulders to carry my pack.
Starting in the new year, I upped my training from four/five days a week to six days. I’m getting in three days of weightlifting at Crossfit with lots of back squats, front squats, lunges, and deadlifts. I also do upper body work such as clean & jerks, pull ups and pushups and then a variety of core exercises. I’m getting in a few cardio days too. I go to a class that uses a non-motorized treadmill, so my legs really have to push against the resistance. I also do a short, interval intense run, which helps with building my VO2 max, (which helps with oxygen consumption) and then I’m getting in one long hike with my backpack filled with weights. Finally I’m practicing yoga again to help with my flexibility.
Is all of this extra necessary, since I said a reasonably healthy person can do it? Probably not, but I’ve learned I’m much better at training for a goal than just exercising. And while the trek doesn’t require a super high level of fitness, having a solid foundation will make it that much more enjoyable.
Do you use any equipment to help train for altitude?
The biggest obstacle I’ll face is the altitude. It’s the most difficult and underestimated aspect to the trek. Living in Florida at sea level, oxygen levels are 100%. I will experience a 50% decline in oxygen. That’s tough because I can’t train for it. People often suggest a high-altitude mask, which I originally thought sounded like a good idea. However, the goal of high-altitude training is to increase the hemoglobin in your blood and the mask simply makes it harder to breathe. (Plus it looks absolutely ridiculous!)
I do wear a weighted training vest for my cardio. The vest has individual sandbags so I can adjust the amount of weight for my workout. When I wear the vest (or ruck with weights in my backpack) I burn a ton of calories and it is as cardio- efficient as a long, slow run. Plus it helps build my hiking endurance and my legs.
What kind of gear do you bring?
Buying the right gear has been one of the most fun and most aggravating parts of getting ready for a trip like this one. Living in South Florida, outdoor stores here mainly stock hunting, fishing and camping gear, so I’ve become quite the online shopper. REI (which is the Whole Foods of the outdoor gear world) has sent a steady stream of boxes to my house as I’ve bought, tested, and returned dozens of jackets, pants, gloves, base layers, mid-layers and hard shells.
I got a four-page packing list from my trekking company--seemed easy enough. But the temperatures will vary from short-sleeve warm weather potentially down to zero, so I have to be prepared for it all. From a light mid-layer jacket to a raincoat to a parka, I’ve got five coats to protect me. I have pant layers in varying degrees of warmth too—light trekking pants, leggings, fleece pants, insulated pants and hard shell rain pants. I need tank tops, short sleeves, long sleeves, and fleece. I never was a great packer to begin with and I’m only allowed to bring 44 pounds. That doesn’t seem like much, considering I also have an inflatable mattress, a sleeping bag, solar charger, Ipad, cameras, water filtration system and backpack. Luckily, much of the equipment is super light, which is important when every extra ounce matters.
Are you worried about altitude sickness?
Short answer - No. I cannot anticipate how I will be affected so I just don’t worry about it. Olympic athletes have suffered AMS (acute mountain sickness) and regular people can feel just fine. You can ascend ten mountains, no problem, and then suffer. Altitude sickness can be as simple as a mild headache or nausea. But true AMS is life-threatening. If a medic deems you to have AMS, they’ll literally run you down the mountain to get you to a lower elevation. That’s the worst of it.
There are a few things we do to ensure our safety. First, we eat a lot of carbs. I’m really good at feeding my body rice and pasta. Second, we have to drink copious amounts of fluid. This is tougher. Drinking 5-6 liters of water a day makes me more nervous than the thought of an avalanche destroying basecamp. We have to purify our own water after its boiled. I’m sure that tastes delicious. Luckily, I’m prepared with electrolyte tablets that make the water taste better.
We take a leisurely nine days to ascend to basecamp, allowing plenty of time to acclimatize. The motto is trek high, sleep low. Each day as we climb to even higher altitudes, each evening we descend to sleep. Twice we stay put in the same teahouse for two nights to help adjust as well. On those days, we will hike to higher altitudes and then descend again to our beds.
I will be fine. Or I will not. And in case of emergency, I have a prescription for Diamox that hopefully will help.
Who will be on the trek with you?
I’m very fortunate to be trekking with my friend and racing partner, Jean. I have also “met” three other women on our tour so far and we’ve been in communication fairly regularly. (I can’t wait to meet them in person!). Up to ten other guests in all will be on the trek. Then, there’s the staff: We’ll have two to three American guides. I expect that one of them will have summited Everest. Then, there’s the Sherpa, the porters and the cooks. The staff is headed to basecamp to get the camp ready for the team behind us that will be shooting to reach the summit in May. Up to 25 people will be in our caravan, along with the yaks.
Is there Wi-Fi? How will you communicate?
I knew there is Wifi in most of the villages on the way to basecamp, but I was surprised to learn there is Wifi at basecamp as well. However, all the internet services on the route and in the region is provided by one company, so if it goes down (which is not uncommon) it all goes down. I will be posting pictures and hopefully videos on my journey.
Are you scared?
Everyone knows of the terrible storm on Mt. Everest back in 1996 when eight mountaineers died. And in 2005, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal, which in turn triggered a massive avalanche at basecamp, killing 22 people. This spot is where I’ll be sleeping for two nights.
But no, I’m not scared of a blizzard or earthquake or avalanche. I think my odds of dying in a car crash are much greater. I cannot worry about what I cannot control. It’s just not worth my energy, so I don’t think about it. A bigger concern is to never let the yaks get between me and the mountain. They could push me off the cliff. That’s much more likely, along with digestive issues, altitude sickness, freezing temperatures, loss of appetite, swollen knees, dehydration, migraines, and even breaking my ankle. Those concerns much more top of mind.
Finally, WHY Everest?
This basic question is always asked of me and I struggle to find the briefest answer. Sometimes I just default to George Mallory, the first to attempt to summit Everest: “Because it’s there!” But that’s not really the whole story.
A much less famous quote of his holds the answer for me. “It’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” One my mother’s greatest gifts to me was her enduring faith in my skills and abilities. Her love and encouragement has enabled me to overcome my insecurities and tackle so many challenges in my life. I anticipate this trek will be the hardest, most challenging and most rewarding experience of my life. I can’t conquer Everest on pure strength alone. It will take mental grit to push past pain or decreased oxygen or nausea. More than any other time, when I’m pushing my body and my mental grit, be it obstacle racing or summiting Half Dome in Yosemite, I feel more alive and more powerful internally than at any other moment. I love this opportunity to push the envelope of my own limitations.
My beautiful mother also bestowed to me her insane love of travel, but never had the chance to see all of the amazing destinations she dreamed about. I’m going to Everest because I’m healthy and capable now. Life is short and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so I’m going. She’d be the first person to tell me “go for it!”
I’m going to honor my mother by leaving some of her remains at the highest point I reach. Even if I have to crawl, she and I will sit on the summit of nearby Kala Pattar, 18,300 feet, to witness the sun rise over the top of Everest. She didn’t get to experience the Himalayas with her own eyes, but she will live on in spirit at a place very few people ever get to see.
